SACRAMENTO - A pair of solo home runs off the bats of Brandon Allen and Rusty Ryal accounted for all of Reno's offense Saturday night, as the Sacramento River Cats downed the Aces 5-2 at Raley Field.
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, Ryal hit a solo shot off Sacramento's Chad Reineke to pull the Aces to within a run. The blast marked Ryal's fourth-straight game with a homer.
In the sixth, the Aces again faced a two-run deficit when Allen smashed a full-count, two-out Reineke offering deep over the wall in right to cut Sacramento's advantage down to one at 3-2. That would be, however, as close as the Aces would get.
Reno starter Seth Etherton (6-7) was solid once again, but was saddled with the loss, surrendering just three runs on six hits over seven innings of work. Working on a Major League rehabilitation assignment, Tom Gordon allowed two runs in the eighth on a hit and two bases on balls.
The win went to Reineke (4-3), as he held the Aces to just two runs over seven innings pitched. Chris Schroder picked up a hold and Jeff Gray slammed the door in the ninth for the save.
Allen and Ryal accounted for half of Reno's eight hits on the evening. Chris Roberson finished his night 3-for-4 at the dish, extending his hitting streak to a season-high-tying 11 games.
The series comes to a close on Sunday afternoon from Raley Field. Hector Ambriz (3-6, 6.11 ERA) gets the nod for Reno, while Sacramento turns to Shawn Chacon (2-2, 6.33 ERA). First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. and the action can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM.